Peggy's Boys
by Regalredstar
Summary: There is a tradition within SHIELD of referring to the very best agents as "Peggy's Boys".


Peggy's Boys

There is a tradition within SHIELD of referring to the very best agents as "Peggy's Boys". It is a very rare honor to be referred to as one of Peggy's Boys, and the men (and women, there are females who have earned the title too, but Peggy's Girls doesn't trip as lightly off the tongue) who do are always the most dedicated, loyal, & competent agents in all of SHIELD. They are unquestionably the best SHIELD has to offer. Mind you, they are generally not the highest ranked, or the ones with the most successful missions, or the highest kill count. They are however unquestionably the best. They are the ones that you call in when everything's gone to shit, and you need to save the world with nothing more than duct tape and chewing gum. (SHIELD has a different understanding of how you measure success than the rest of the world.)

No one's really sure when the term started being used, though it's generally agreed that it probably began not long after Howard Stark elevated Margaret "Peggy" Carter to the position of Co-Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. There are rumors that it actually began before then, that it was a term used by some of the female SSR agents to describe the various men that could usually be found in the general orbit of Peggy Carter, but most people figure that even if that is the case, it doesn't really matter because widespread usage didn't begin until after her appointment.

Originally, it's an insult, a way of implying that SHIELD and its director are so weak that while other leaders have men, she only has boys. This backfires rather spectacularly. Maybe if they were children just out of the academy. But they're not. They've saved the world. Together. That has a remarkable effect on one's self confidence and unity. So while others hope to divide a belittle them, all they do is remind them who they are and what they have done.

They are SHIELD the best of the best. They're a unit, a team, tested in fire and in blood. And Peggy Carter is their leader.

Who selects those who are considered Peggy's boys is also somewhat ambiguous. It seems to be a hive mind sort of thing where people all just start referring to someone as one.

When it happens can be a bit random too. Nick Fury gained the title during the 90s after the incident with the shapeshifting aliens. He had been with SHIELD a little over a decade at the time. Melinda May became one around the same time people began calling her the cavalry, which was about 7 years into her career.

For some people it happens early on. Phil Coulson became one within his first year of being an agent. (The incident that caused it is horrendously classified, but most people agree that it involves Fury's cat.)

Others not so much. Maria Hill didn't become one until the whole Winter Soldier debacle, at which point it didn't really matter since SHIELD technically no longer existed. (Not that anyone in the intelligence community actually believed SHIELD was really gone. Fury was Fury, and even if he was actually dead - doubtful - rumors were that he had actually already hand picked and trained his successor.)

Who is considered one also appears to be a bit random to outsiders. For instance, no one is surprised that the kid who refuses to launch Insite is pretty much instantly considered one. (As in, the first person calls him "one of Peggy's Boys" before he even leaves the room. It gives him the proudest feeling he's ever had. It also embarrasses him more than he can actually express.) However, basically everyone is surprised that for all their skill and dedication, neither the Black Widow or Hawkeye is considered to be one of Peggy's Boys. (Speculation is that that's because as loyally as they served SHIELD, the Avengers are their true family. It's a nice sentiment anyway.)

There's one fact that truly surprises people though. Not a single one of Peggy's Boys turn out to be Hydra. When that finally comes to light, it turns a lot of heads. People begin to wonder if somewhere in their subconscious, the people of SHIELD knew something fishy was going on (well more fishy than usual). If somehow they knew that having a high rank within SHIELD was not the same as actually being one of the best agents. It's something to think about anyway.

As for what Peggy herself thinks about the whole thing? Well, she won't say. But she knows the names of every agent ever to be called one of hers. And if any ever come to call, she's always there, ready and waiting. She has advice for almost any situation (including what kind of club to use when putting golf balls into small black holes) and stories to go with most of it. True most of the stories are classified, but she knows any that are called Hers are most deeply trusted. They can keep the secrets.

And when the young ones are gone, she sits back, and lets herself remember. Remember adventures long past. Remember missions, and explosions, and saving the world. Remember what it is to be young and alive. And mostly remember them, the first. Jason & Jack & Daniel & Howard & dear Mr. Jarvis. Her Boys. Forever and always.

A/N So I know I said Ghosts next, but well, this happened.

I hope you like it. This is my first MCU story, though I've got others in the works (check my profile for info about them and my other WiPs-then drop a line to say which you're interested in).

I'm also contemplating writing more around this general theme. Maybe scenes set at different points throughout the timeline where characters learn what it means to be one of Peggy's Boys. I've got a scene in my head at Peggy's funeral where there's a whole section of mourners set apart from everyone else and Nat explaining to Steve who they are. Would anyone be interested in that kind of thing? Let me know. I have enough WiPs that if there's no interest I'll just let it go.

I'll still try to get the Ghosts chapter posted tonight, but no promises.

-Regal


End file.
